AAM joins newly formed Coalition Against Patent Abuse
The Association for Accessible Medicines announced that it is joining the Coalition Against Patent Abuse, or CAPA, a new multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to fighting abuses of the patent system that drive higher drug prices.
CAPA member organizations represent patients, consumers, payers, healthcare providers, free market advocates and other stakeholders. The organization is holding a launch event on Jan. 16 at noon at the U.S. Capitol.
The event will feature patent experts, patients and consumer advocates speaking about the impact of patent and regulatory abuse, and how Congress can address the issue to lower drug prices and support innovation and competition.
Confirmed speakers include Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Michael Carrier, distinguished professor of law at Rutgers Law School; Wayne Brough, president of Innovation Defense Fund; David Mitchell, founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs; Adam Garber, consumer watchdog at U.S. PIRG; and George Slover, senior policy counsel at Consumers Union.
“The abuse of our nation’s patent system by pharmaceutical companies is keeping drug prices high,” said Beau Phillips, executive director of CAPA. “A recent study found 75% of all pharmaceutical patents between 2005 and 2015 were issued on old, previously patented medicines, not new drugs. The patent system is supposed to reward true innovation, not the creativity of drug companies’ legal departments.”
“Patients may not know the ins and outs of patent law, but they know they pay less for generics” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs, who spoke at the launch. “We strongly support patent reform to get more generics and biosimilars to market to lower the prices of prescription drugs. It will help millions of Americans afford their prescriptions.”
CAPA membership includes the AAM, AHIP, Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, Citizen Outreach, Consumer Action, Innovation Defense Fund, Institute for Liberty, Kaiser Permanente, Knowledge Ecology International, Lincoln Network, R Street Institute, Society for Patient Centered Orthopedics, and U.S. PIRG.
“While there are many suggestions about how to lower drug prices, few realize that the root of the problem is brand drug companies abusing and manipulating our nation’s complex patent system,” Phillips said. “To truly lower drug prices, drug companies must be held to their original patent term.”
CAPA member organizations represent patients, consumers, payers, healthcare providers, free market advocates and other stakeholders. The organization is holding a launch event on Jan. 16 at noon at the U.S. Capitol.
The event will feature patent experts, patients and consumer advocates speaking about the impact of patent and regulatory abuse, and how Congress can address the issue to lower drug prices and support innovation and competition.
Confirmed speakers include Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Michael Carrier, distinguished professor of law at Rutgers Law School; Wayne Brough, president of Innovation Defense Fund; David Mitchell, founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs; Adam Garber, consumer watchdog at U.S. PIRG; and George Slover, senior policy counsel at Consumers Union.
“The abuse of our nation’s patent system by pharmaceutical companies is keeping drug prices high,” said Beau Phillips, executive director of CAPA. “A recent study found 75% of all pharmaceutical patents between 2005 and 2015 were issued on old, previously patented medicines, not new drugs. The patent system is supposed to reward true innovation, not the creativity of drug companies’ legal departments.”
“Patients may not know the ins and outs of patent law, but they know they pay less for generics” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs, who spoke at the launch. “We strongly support patent reform to get more generics and biosimilars to market to lower the prices of prescription drugs. It will help millions of Americans afford their prescriptions.”
CAPA membership includes the AAM, AHIP, Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, Citizen Outreach, Consumer Action, Innovation Defense Fund, Institute for Liberty, Kaiser Permanente, Knowledge Ecology International, Lincoln Network, R Street Institute, Society for Patient Centered Orthopedics, and U.S. PIRG.
“While there are many suggestions about how to lower drug prices, few realize that the root of the problem is brand drug companies abusing and manipulating our nation’s complex patent system,” Phillips said. “To truly lower drug prices, drug companies must be held to their original patent term.”